During the 1920s Gharm was a hotbed for the Basmachi, the anti-Soviet resistance in Central Asia. In 1929 Basmachi commander Faizal Maksum crossed from Afghanistan into Tajikistan and briefly captured Gharm, only to later be expelled by Soviet forces.[1][2]

During the Civil War in Tajikistan from 1992-1997, Gharm was a hotbed for the opposition force, and the town was controlled by the opposition during the later part of the civil war in Tajikistan. In October 2010, the Tajik Interior Ministry asserted it had killed three militants on the outskirts of Gharm amid an alleged rise in Islamic militancy in the region.[3][4]